Monday, February 13, 2012

grave post #7

A few months ago I was taking a scenic route home and decided to stop off in Kleinburg, a small town north of Toronto. It is a pretty setting, in between two branches of the Humber River with lots of hills. It is mostly known for being the home of the McMichael Gallery specializing in Canadian art, specifically the Group of Seven, but that will be for another post.
This post shows a rather quiet and unpretentious connection to history with this marker I found at the top of a hill beside a particularly nice house I wanted to photograph.


Who could possibly know that from this young couple a son would be born who would one day become one of the country's greatest Prime Ministers?

The church is no longer there, but up on the hill was a wall with several grave markers inserted


It wasn't until I had walked around taking random photos of the markers that I looked at it as a whole and realized the shape of the raised bed

was in a very large cross. 


it was tricky getting it all in one good shot, but I have managed to get an aerial view from googlemaps.

View Larger Map

and as an added bit of trivia and historical connection... February 15th will be the 47th anniversary of the Maple Leaf flag of Canada. It was Lester B Pearson who appointed a committee to resolve the issue of the flag debate and they were given 6 weeks to do so. The Maple Leaf we know today replaced the Red Ensign that had been the flag used by the government after WWII but which was never adopted as an official flag.

Check out Taphophile Tragics for more grave issues from the past.

21 comments:

  1. Great idea looking at the cross from the "air"

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  2. Most interesting, and I liked that information about the flag. Here, some people froth violently at the mouth at the very notion that our flag might be changed, although there has never been any attempt to do so.
    Did you know about the historic significance and go searching for it, or was it just chance?

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  3. Great Cemetery! Going to put this on my places to visit list.

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  4. Very interesting post with some great photos.
    Sorry to have caused you to shudder with my post!

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  5. Interesting and moving, too. The two girls dying in the same year--my heart hurt. And it was a beautiful way to have all those markers.

    As you know, I have an affinity for maple leaves, so it's so cool to know a bit about your flag!

    Your posts are always one of a kind to me.

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  6. That is a great way to preserve the markers. And a historical one to be found too was a bonus. I love the Canadian Flag. many keep talking about redesigning our flag so as to remove the union jack, but it never happens.

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  7. This is a great, great post. Very interesting. I enjoyed this tour of the old church site. Sad to see such a historical church no longer functioning but that cross structure is certainly unique.

    Congrats on Lester Pearson and the Maple Leaf flag - it has become a truly recognisable emblem of Canada.

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  8. i have always admired your flag but now i love it more. the fact that a government comittee did something in six weeks, and did it so well, is a story worth telling.

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  9. I love the Group of Seven, so will look forward to your post on that.
    But I have to admit to being ignorant of much of Canadian history - will have to educate myself.

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  10. The google maps perspective was a really good touch.

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  11. It is wonderful what one can stumble upon when wandering around churches and graveyards, Sanna. Of course, one needs to be well-informed to recognise the significance of many of these markers. I remember Lester Pearson from my high school days. I mainly remember him, unfortunately, as the keeper of the flame before the Trudeau years.

    Th raised bed in the form of a cross is an inspired idea. I wonder if there are remains (cremated or otherwise ) within, or whether these markers were removed from elsewhere.

    I took had a heart-flutter at the two little sisters being lost in the same year. Such distress is hard to comprehend.

    Thank you for yet another engrossing contribution to Taphophile Tragics.

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  12. The name "Kleinburg" sounds rather dutch to me. It is an impressive grave with this cross-form and an interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Wow! How amazing is that? What a wonderful find, thanks for sharing.

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    http://seathreepeeo.blogspot.com

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  14. Now put it all in a zip file and send it via sendspace (it's free) to the Ontario Cemetery Project. They will appreciate it no doubt.

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  15. The raised-bed cross with the old markers inserted in the side is a great idea. Interesting connection to Canadian history, too.

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  16. me too, i like the cross! isnt it cool to discover something like that. and perhaps many other people never notice it... :)
    nice also to see it from above..

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  17. How could you not notice that was a cross? Interesting cemetery.

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  18. I know, weird, eh?! It is on top of a hill, so climbing up meant I only saw the wall and grass top. I was so busy concentrating on the markers that I didn't recognize it until I had gotten to the top end and could see it better.

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  19. Wow, cool. I love serendipitous moments like that - what a great discovery.

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